Vibratory conveyor

ABSTRACT

A conveying system with a frame supporting a conveying member suitable to move products thereon. A drive, which is preferably an electromagnetic drive having a mass that vibrates back and forth along a substantially straight path, is connected to the frame.

This application is a Continuation of No. 09/003,998 filed Jan. 8, 1998now U.S. Pat. No. 6,079,550.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an excited frame vibratory conveyingapparatus for conveying objects thereon.

Carmichael, U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,535, incorporated by reference herein,discloses an excited frame vibratory conveyor that includes an elongatedconveying member mounted by beam springs on an excited frame. Theexcited frame has a balanced vibratory drive for vibrating the excitedframe along a line of force that passes through the center of masses ofthe conveying member and the excited frame. The balanced vibratory driveincludes a pair of counter-rotating masses that provide a resultantvibratory force. The basic objective of such a system is to maintain thevibration amplitude of the excited frame at zero while the conveying bedor member is vibrated near its natural frequency of maximum amplitude.The generally recognized advantages of such a system, over conventionaldirect vibratory conveyors where the vibratory drive is connecteddirectly to the conveying member, is that under some conditions it ispossible to transfer less vibration into the floor or ceiling supportsand to provide a conveyor that is considerably less massive than thedirect drive systems. Carmichael also teaches that the stroke of theconveying member may be controlled by changing the rpm of the vibratorydrive. Consequently, it is possible to adjust the stroke of theconveying member by changing the speed of rotation of the vibratorydrive.

Unfortunately, the conveyor system taught by Carmichael experiencessignificant transient vibrational motion of the excited frame andconveying member during start up and shut down of the conveyor system.It is during these periods of transition that significant vibrationalforces are transferred into the floor or ceiling supports which mayresult in catastrophic failure, such as the conveyor system becomingdislodged from its supports. During normal operation product is added toone end of the conveying member at the same rate as it is beingdischarged from the other end of the conveying member. However, it hasbeen observed that when excess product is added to the conveyor systemtaught by Carmichael, the system will experience catastrophic failure,such as transferring significant vibrational forces into the floor orceiling supports, bouncing the excited frame on its supports, andfailure of the conveyor system to convey products. In order to preventsuch a potentially catastrophic failure, the conveyor system is normallydesigned to operate at a point less than its maximum efficiency in theevent that excess product is added to the conveying member. Carmichaelalso teaches the use of such an operating point by including onlyone-third of the weight of the anticipated particulate material in thecalculations to determine the loaded center of mass of the elongatedconveying member. Unfortunately, operating the conveyor system at suchan operating point is less efficient than operating the conveyor systemat its resonant frequency.

Frolich et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,512, disclose an electromagneticallydriven vibrating conveyor system that operates with a constantexcitation frequency. The conveyor system is a dual-mass system, namely,the mass of an electromagnetic drive and the mass of the conveyor itselfto which the drive is directly connected thereto. The electromagneticdrive regulates the amplitude of the vibration during operation atdifferent loading conditions. Unfortunately, such a dual-mass systemtransfers substantial vibrational forces into the floor or ceilingsupports and tends to be more massive in comparison to the excited framesystem taught by Carmichael. Further, the electromagnetic drive istypically more expensive and complicated than the traditionalcounter-rotating mass drive, as taught by Carmichael. Bertrand, U.S.Pat. No. 4,088,223, and Fishman et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,200, alsodisclose direct drive vibratory conveyors.

What is desired, therefore, is an excited frame vibratory conveyor thateliminates the transients occurring during start-up and shutdown, andalso operates at maximum efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention overcomes the aforementioned limitations of theprior art by providing a conveying system including a frame supporting aconveying member suitable to move products thereon. A drive, which ispreferably an electromagnetic drive having a mass that vibrates back andforth along a substantially straight path, is connected to the frame andis operated in a fashion to provide several advantages therefrom.

In a first aspect of the invention, the drive is capable of maintainingthe frame substantially stationary while the conveying member is atleast one of brought from a stationary state to a generally resonantstate suitable to move the products thereon and brought from thegenerally resonant state suitable to move the products thereon to thestationary state. As such the excited frame experiences no substantialtransient vibrational motions during the start up and shut down of theconveyor system. This prevents significant vibrational forces from beingtransferred into the floor or ceiling supports thereby preventingcatastrophic failure.

In another aspect of the invention, the drive also preferably provides avibratory force to the frame that never matches the natural frequency ofthe frame while the conveying member is brought from a stationary stateto a generally resonant state suitable to move the products thereon. Thedrive maintains the frame substantially stationary while the conveyingmember is moving the products thereon. In this manner the transients ofthe excited frame are reduced during start up and shut down.

In another aspect of the invention, the electromagnetic drive, whichpreferably has a mass that vibrates back and forth along a substantiallystraight path, provides a force to the frame in such a manner that theconveying member moves products thereon while the frame maintainssubstantially stationary. Also the electromagnetic drive may produce aforce in a direction which provides both horizontal displacement andvertical displacement to the conveying member while maintaining theframe substantially stationary with the conveying member moving theproducts thereon. The use of the electromagnetic drive provides superiorflexibility for the operation of the excited frame vibratory conveyorthan obtainable with a dual counter rotating mass drive taught byCarmichael.

In another aspect of the invention, the electromagnetic drive provides aforce to the frame where the force has a variable frequency and theforce has a variable amplitude at each of the frequencies. Also theforce may have a frequency and an amplitude that are variableindependently of one another. In either case the drive maintains theframe substantially stationary while the conveying member is moving theproducts thereon. This further provides control over the force so thatthe operating point of the conveyor system may be adequately controlled,even in a region of operation to the left of the resonant point. Thisalso permits the system to recover from a condition that the operatingpoint and mass of product being conveyed would otherwise result incatastrophic failure.

In another aspect of the invention, the drive maintains the framesubstantially stationary while said conveying member is moving theproducts thereon. A sensor senses the vibratory motion of the conveyingmember. The drive is connected to the frame to provide a vibratingmotion in response to the sensor which maintain a substantially constantstroke distance of the conveying member while at least one of the totalmass of the products supported by the conveying member is increasing,the total mass of the products supported by the conveying member isdecreasing, and spring constants of springs interconnecting the frame tothe conveying member change. Also, the sensor may regulate the drive tochange the stroke distance of the conveying member. This controllabilitypermits compensation for variances in the operating conditions of theconveying system while still maintaining a stable system.

In another aspect of the invention, it is advantageous to place twoconveyors as close as possible to objects they are feeding (or being bedby). By placing a conveyor's outfeed end close to the object it isfeeding, product spillage is reduced. With the counter rotating masssystem it is difficult to place conveyors sufficiently close together.Also, the counter rotating mass conveyors cannot be started and stoppedin rapid succession due to the transient frame movement which may resultin catastrophic failure. The failure may be the result of the conveyoroperating in the transient state for extended time periods. Theinvention permits conveyors to be placed close together without anyadverse frame movement due to no transient states of operation. As suchthe conveying members may be close together, with each conveying memberoverlapping the path of the other at least in a vertical direction,which is a daunting task using counter rotating mass drives.

The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of theinvention will be more readily understood upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of an exemplary embodiment of aconveyor system with a drive of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the line of force of the drive andcenter of masses of the conveyor system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a mass and spring diagram illustrating the forces of theconveyor system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a displacement versus frequency graph of the conveyor systemof FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a pictorial representation of an exemplary embodiment of thedrive of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a graph of the displacement of the pan and the frame over timefor a dual mass counter rotating drive conveyor system.

FIG. 7 is a graph of the displacement of the pan and the frame over timefor an electromagnetic drive.

FIG. 8 is a pictorial representation of an exemplary embodiment of aconveyor system of FIG. 1 with two drives.

FIG. 9 is a breakaway pictorial representation of an exemplaryembodiment of a conveyor system of FIG. 1 with two conveyors.

FIG. 10 is an alternative embodiment of the drive of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIG. 1, an excited frame vibratory conveying system 10 issupported by a pair of stationary supports 12. The stationary supports12 include pillars that are attached to the floor and the conveyingsystem 10. Alternatively, the conveying system 10 may be mounted to anupper support, such as a ceiling. The conveying system 10 includes anelongate excited frame 14 generally extending in an intended directionof movement of particulate material from a rear end 16 to a front end18.

The conveying system 10 includes an elongate conveying member 20 thatextends between a rear end 22 and a front end 24. The conveying member20 includes a conveying bed 26 for receiving the particulate matter orobjects. The conveying member 20 includes side walls 28 and 30 thatextend between the front end 24 and the rear end 22. The conveyingmember 20 is preferably a lightweight generally rigid structure.

The conveying system 10 includes a support structure that resilientlysupports the conveying member 20 on the excited frame 14. The supportstructure includes leaf or beam springs 38 that interconnect theconveyor member 20 and the excited frame 14. The springs 38 are spacedapart longitudinally along both sides of the conveying member 20 toenable the conveying member 20 to undergo vibrational motion in agenerally forward and rearward reciprocating motion with respect to theexcited frame 14. Each of the springs 38 are attached, with bolts orother suitable fasteners, at a slight inclined angle with respect to thelongitudinal direction of the conveying system 10. The springs 38prevent transverse movement of the conveying member 20 with respect tothe excited frame 14. The actual path of the reciprocating movementbetween the conveying member 20 and the excited frame 14 is in thenature of parallelogram, but for small displacements or vibrations alongthis path, the path may be considered as a straight line which isperpendicular to the face of the springs 38 in their undeflectedposition. The size and number of the springs 38 are varied to adjust thespring constants.

A vibratory drive 40 is directly connected to the excited frame 14 tovibrate the elongated frame 14 in the intended direction of conveying.Specifically, the vibratory drive 40 is preferably is an electromagneticdrive 40, as opposed to a balanced counter-rotating mass drive as taughtby Carmichael. The electromagnetic drive 40 produces a vibratory motionalong a linear line of force 42. The electromagnetic drive 40 isdescribed in detail later. The electromagnetic drive 40 is mounted tothe elongate frame 14 with its resultant force directed along the linearline of force 42 which is perpendicular to the springs 38. Additionally,the line of force 42 extends though a center of mass 201 of theapparatus, as illustrated schematically in FIG. 2.

The conveying member 20 has a known mass (weight) and a known center ofmass 203. For purposes of this invention the center of mass of theconveying member 20 also preferably includes one-half of the weight ofthe beam springs 38. When the conveying member 20 is loaded withmaterial, the center of gravity of the loaded conveyor is slightlyraised or changed to a loaded center of mass 205, as illustratedschematically in FIG. 2.

The excited frame 14 has a known mass (weight) and center of mass 207.The center of mass 207 of the excited frame 14 is calculated consideringthe excited frame 14, the vibratory drive 40, and preferably one-half ofthe beam springs 38. The calculation of the center of mass for theexcited frame 14 does not include the resilient supports. The entireconveying system 10 excluding the resilient supports, has a center ofmass 201 that is intermediate and along a line extending through thecenter of mass 203 of the conveying member 20 and the center of mass 207of the excited frame 14. Any rocking motion of the conveying member 20with respect to the excited frame 14 is greatly reduced when thevibratory line of force 42 from the drive 40 extends through the centerof mass 201 of the conveying system 10. Consequently, the conveyingsystem 10 is able to operate over a rather large range of loads withoutany appreciable vibration of the excited frame 14. This reduces thevibration transferred into the lower supports or ceiling supportsreducing the likelihood of catastrophic failure. Preferably, the linebetween the center of masses 203 and 207 is perpendicular to the face ofthe springs 38 and is coincident with the vibratory line of force 42extending through the center of mass 205, the center of mass 201, andthe center of mass 203.

While it is preferable to orient the vibratory line of force 42perpendicular to the beam springs 38 and extending though the center ofmasses 201, 203, and 207, it is very difficult to always attain suchalignment of the drive 40, particularly when the product load isunknown. Good results may be achieved if the center of mass 205 of theconveying member 20 is at a distance from the vibration line of force 42of less than 10 percent of the distance between the center of mass 203and the center of mass 207.

Referring to FIG. 3, a mass-spring diagram is shown of the conveyingsystem 10. The mass of the conveying member 20 together with apercentage of product contained thereon may be referred to as the panmass 25. The mass of the excited frame 14 together with the vibratorydrive 40 may be referred to as the frame mass 27. The springs 38 andother items can be grouped into either the pan mass 25 or the frame mass27, as desired. K1 refers to the effective spring constant between thepan mass 25 and the frame mass 27. K2 refers to the effective springconstant between the frame mass 27 and the supports. The goal of such aconveying system 10 is to apply a force to the frame mass 27 with thedrive 40, taking into consideration the spring constants and differentmasses, to achieve a displacement of the pan mass 25 in a vibratorymotion, while the summation of forces on the frame mass 27 is zeroresulting in a substantially stationary frame mass 27. If the frame mass27 maintains a stationary position then there will be no resultantfluxuating forces applied to the supporting surface as a result ofmovement of the conveying system 10.

Referring to FIG. 4, the displacement of the conveying member depends onthe natural frequency of the conveying member W_(n) (pan) and the forcedfrequency F_(f) (drive) from the vibratory drive 40. As W_(n) (pan)/F_(f) (drive) becomes closer to unity the total displacement of theconveying member, otherwise referred to as the stroke distance,increases to its maximum which is when the drive is at its greatestefficiency. The aforementioned unity point of operation is typicallyreferred to as point of resonance 302. The W_(n) (pan) is preferablycalculated as: W_(n) (pan)=square root[K1/M_(total)] where M_(total) iscalculated as M_(pan)+approx 50 percent of the mass of the product. Theconveying system 10 is typically designed, with the F_(f) (drive)selected to be slightly less than W_(n) (pan) so that the conveyingsystem 10 operates at a stable point to the right of resonance. Such astable point may be at point A. If the total mass of product on theconveying member 20 increases then the W_(n) (pan) will decrease. Thiscauses the operating point of the conveying system 10 to move left alongthe displacement curve, such as point B. This results in more efficientoperation of the conveying system 10 as the operating point moves closerto resonance with increased stroke distance.

However, if excess product is added to the conveying member 20 then theW_(n) (pan) will decrease sufficiently and move the operating point pastthe resonance mode point 302 to the left side of the curve[(W_(n)F_(f))<1] resulting in a decrease in efficiency. As theefficiency decreases, the stroke distance also decreases. This resultsin an increase in the total mass of product on the conveying system 10as the mass of products entering to the conveying system 10 is greaterthan the mass of products exiting from the conveying system 10 becausethe feeder for the conveying system 10 normally provides products at arelatively constant rate. The total mass of the conveying member 20,including products thereon, continues to increase which furtherdecreases its natural frequency W_(n) (pan) . This process of increasingmass on the conveying member and decreasing natural frequency continuesuntil catastrophic failure occurs, such as, for example, erraticmovement of the excited frame 14, the excited frame 14 bouncing on itssupports, and no conveying of product on the conveying member 20. Inextreme cases, the excited frame 14 can experience sufficientvibrational forces to result in the conveying system becoming detachedfrom its supports, potentially injuring workers nearby and otherequipment in the vicinity of the conveyor system.

The aforementioned potentially catastrophic failure is not easilyprevented with the teachings of Carmichael because the Carmichaelconveying system includes a pair of balanced counter-rotating masses.The stroke of the conveying member of Carmichael may be controlled bychanging the rotational speed of the vibratory drive. While changing therotational speed of the drive provides a range of possible operationalfrequencies, the particular force applied by the counter-rotating massesat each particular frequency is fixed for each drive. At a rotationalspeed much removed from the designed operating point where therotational speed of the balanced counter-rotating masses provide thedesired resultant force, the limitation of one particular force at eachparticular frequency fails to provide a suitable combination of force(magnitude) and frequency to maintain the excited frame 14 stationary.There are counter-incentive reasons not to even implement a variablefrequency counter-rotating mass system. First, the ramping up of therotational speed of the drive during start up from a stationary state toa fully operating state may be to slow, resulting in substantial damageto the conveyor system, as described later. Second, if the conveyorsystem experiences a power loss, then many drive controllers willdefault to a ramp up feature which may result in substantial damage tothe conveyor system, as described later. Third, the ramp up power fromthe drive controller may not be under controlled conditions from a powerfailure and resulting in improper operation of the conveying system.Fourth, variable frequency controllers are expensive adding unnecessaryexpensive to the conveying system with limited perceived benefits. Allof the aforementioned limitations of a variable frequency counterrotating mass drive can be eliminated by designing a sufficientoperational margin to the right of the resonance point 302 for anyanticipated mass of product. In addition, it is much simpler to changethe pulleys of the Carmichael system to effect a frequency change, whichis fail safe under all conditions. Safety and reliability under alloperating conditions is a critical factor for the design of conveyingsystems, and motivates designers against designing conveying systemswhich may, under even unlikely conditions, result in a possiblecatastrophic failure.

The present inventor came to the realization that the limitationinherent in counter rotating mass drives which provide a fixed force ateach particular frequency does not provide the necessary variability toproperly control the operating point of the conveying system 10, foroperating points much removed from the designed operating point with theestimated mass of products to be conveyed on the conveying member 20.This limitation is further heighten by a desire to maintain control overthe stability of the conveying system 10 when the operating point movesto the left of the resonance point 302 (FIG. 4), in which the Carmichaelsystem becomes unstable resulting in catastrophic failure. The presentinventor also came to the realization that if the force (magnitude) andfrequency of the drive could be uncoupled then sufficient control of theconveying system 10 may be achieved to overcome the limitations inherentin counter rotating mass drives. The present inventor then came to therealization that the control and versatility may be obtained byreplacing the mechanical counter-rotating masses, with a generally moreexpensive electromagnetic drive 40, as previously mentioned, togetherwith a drive controller 80.

Referring to FIG. 5, an electromagnetic drive 40 includes a frame 62constructed of mild steel. A set of four single fiberglass springs 64are connected to the frame 62. A single double fiberglass spring 66,including two stacked springs, is also connected to the frame 62. A setof four spring supports 68 (two shown) interconnect a mild steelcounterweight 70 and the single springs 64, and the double spring 66.The counterweight 70 may have any suitable mass, such as 220 pounds.Accordingly, the counterweight 70 may be moved in a vibratory fashionalong a direction perpendicular to the springs 64 and 66. An armature 72is attached to the top of the counterweight 70, and may be constructedfrom any suitable material, such as for example, a mild steel or apermanent magnet. The frame 62 is rigidly attached to the excited frame14 with the appropriate directional angle so that the resultant forcefrom the movement of the counterweight 70 is directed along line offorce 42. A curved plate 74, preferably constructed of stainless steel,supports a housing 76 with an internal set of windings 78 connected to adrive controller 80 (FIG. 2). The curved plate 74 is likewise rigidlyattached to the excited frame 14 directly in line with and perpendicularto the armature 72. The diameter of the armature 72 is preferablyslightly less than the internal diameter of the windings 78 so thatmovement of the armature 72 within the housing 76 will not strike thewindings 78. Energization of the windings 78 with an electric currentcreates an electrical field that attracts the armature 72, and hence thecounterweight 70 toward the housing 76. This attraction flexes thesprings 64 and 66 connected to the frame 62. Upon de-energization of theelectric current and hence the electrical field, the springs 64 and 66pull the counterweight 70 and armature 72 away from the windings 78. Byselecting the timing between energization pulses for the electricalfield of the windings 78, the frequency of the vibratory motion of thecounterweight 70 may be selected. Further, by selecting the magnitude(amplitude) of the energization of the electrical field of the windings78 by the magnitude of the current, the amplitude of the vibratorymotion of the counterweight 70 may likewise be selected independently ofits frequency. Reversing the electrical field of energization will pushthe armature 72, and hence the counterweight 70, away from the windings78 if the armature 72 is a permanent magnet. This further providescontrol over both the frequency and amplitude of the force provided bythe electromagnetic vibratory drive 40. A typical frequency used forsuch conveyor systems is 1200 cycles per minute (approximately 20hertz).

Another major concern regarding conveying systems, such as the onetaught by Carmichael, are transients of the excited frame that occurupon start up and shut down of the conveying system. Referring to FIG.6, prior to start up both the excited frame and conveying member arestationary. Upon starting of the rotation of the balancedcounter-rotating masses, the excited frame undergoes severe transientsas the stroke distance of the conveying member is brought to its desiredoperating frequency, and hence stroke distance. This same transientoccurs upon shut down of the conveying system, which may occur in anuncontrolled fashion as a result of power failure.

The present inventor came to the realization that the primary source ofsuch excited frame 14 transients during start up and shut down are aresult of the forced frequency from the drive (F_(f)) and the naturalfrequency of the of the excited frame 14 matching or being close to oneanother. The natural frequency of the excited frame 14, W_(n) (frame),is generally calculated as the square root of (K2/(M_(frame)+M_(pan))).W_(n) (frame) has a frequency generally in the range of ½ hertz to 2hertz. During start up, when the frequency of the applied force matches,or is substantially the same as the W_(n) (frame), then the drive 40 andexcited frame 14 resonate resulting in substantial displacement of theexcited frame 14. This occurs upon start up and shut down of thecounter-rotating masses when they have a frequency that matches thisW_(n) (frame). If the ramp up of the frequency of the counter-rotatingmasses is to slow, such as may result with a variable frequencycontroller, then the time during which the forced frequency results inresonance may be extended and result in substantial movement of theexcited frame causing catastrophic failure.

In contrast, the electromagnetic vibratory drive 40 does not ramp up infrequency, but rather the proper operating frequency is initiallyapplied to the windings 78 which results in the counterweight 70 alsohaving a vibrational motion with the applied frequency. Accordingly, thecounterweight starting frequency is zero then substantially has afrequency with the desired operating frequency nearly immediately. Overa short period of time the amplitude of the counterweight 70 isincreased to the desired amplitude. Referring to FIG. 7, while theamplitude is ramped up to the desired operating condition, the frequencydoes not likewise ramp up but starts at or near the desired frequency sothat at no time does the counterweight 70 have a frequency in thegeneral range of ½ to 2 hertz which is applied to the conveyor system 10(near W_(n) (frame)) that would result in transient motion of theexcited frame 14. Likewise, when the conveyor system 10 is shut down thedrive 40 stops providing current to the windings 78 so the counterweight70 simply vibrates near the operational frequency, which issubstantially greater than the applied natural frequency of the excitedframe, with decreasing amplitude overtime. When the counterweight 70 hasan amplitude near zero a slight jitter or movement may be experienced inthe excited frame 14 because the counterweight 70 comes to rest and hasa frequency matching that of the frame 14, albeit of a far lessermagnitude than those typically observed for counter-rotating masses. Asused in the description and as use in the claims, the term “generallyresonant state” refers to the operation of the conveyor system at anystate of operation other than start-up and shut-down of the system.

An additional feature obtainable with the combination of the drivecontroller 80 and the electromagnetic drive 40 is the capability ofmaintaining any suitable operating point on the stroke distance curve.In addition, even operating points on the left side of the resonancepoint 302 can be maintained by increasing the amplitude to compensatefor decreased movement of the product which avoids product buildup onthe conveying member 20, and hence catastrophic failure.

A further feature of the drive controller 80 and the drive 40 is itsability to seek out and maintain a maximum stroke distance at resonancemode. The frequency of the controller is initially decreased slowlywhile the stroke distance of the pan increases. A sensor 85 senses thestroke distance and when the stroke distance starts to decrease thesystem then knows it has just moved past resonance to the left. Then thecontroller increases the drive frequency which again increases thestroke distance. When the stroke distance starts to decrease then thesystem knows it has moved past the resonance point 302 to the right. Inthis manner, the conveying system 10 can maintain itself at, or nearresonance, which reduces power consumption and maximizes the strokedistance. This also reduces the size of the electromagnetic drive 40necessary to operate the system 10. Further, because of thecontrollability of the system 20, the system 10 may be designed with anoperating point much closer, or at resonance. Also, when additionalproduct is added to the pan, the stroke distance can be maintained at adesirable operating point or distance thereby preventing catastrophicfailure which would result without such controllability.

Over time during operation of the conveyor system 10 the springconstants tend to change which changes the operating point of theconveyor system 10. Likewise, the system 10 automatically compensatesfor such changes and can operate at any desired frequency.

Referring to FIG. 10, an alternative embodiment of the electromagneticdrive 40 is a C-shaped magnetically permeable member 250 wound with wire252 that pulls and/or pushes an armature 254 connected to thecounterweight 70. Any other suitable electromagnetic drive may be used.

In addition, if a spring breaks, the system can detect the difference instroking distance, the same as a change in product mass, and compensateaccordingly thus preventing catastrophic failure.

Referring to FIG. 8, for large or longer conveyor systems whereadditional force is required than obtainable with a single vibratorydrive, a plurality of vibratory drives 40 may be connected to the frame.In such a case the vibratory electromagnetic drives 40 are preferablyarranged equal distant on either side and parallel to the line of force42. The electromagnetic drives may be different distances from the lineof force 42 if the forces provided by the respective drives compensatefor the different location that the forces are applied to the conveyorsystem so that the frame remains stationary and the conveyor system doesnot undergo significant rocking motion. In addition, it may be more costeffective to use more than one electromagnetic drive than a single largeelectromagnetic drive. The drive controller 80 maintains the drives inphase by varying the magnitude and frequency of the supplied current. Itis exceedingly difficult to maintain a plurality of counter rotatingmass drives in phase, especially if the frequency of the drive ischanged.

Referring to FIG. 9, to extend the length of the conveyor system it ismore advantageous in many circumstances to employ multiple conveyorsystems aligned with one another providing matching vibratory motions.With electromagnetic drives and one or more controllers, as opposed tocounter rotating mass drives, it is feasible to maintain the conveyorpans such that they do not result in striking one another. This isespecially important because the adjacent conveyor pans are very closeto one another.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoingspecification are used therein as terms of description and not oflimitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms andexpressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown anddescribed or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of theinvention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of moving products comprising the stepsof: (a) supporting a conveying member suitable to move products thereonwith a frame; (b) providing a vibratory force to said frame that nevermatches the natural frequency of said frame while said conveying memberis brought from a stationary state to a generally resonant statesuitable to move said products thereon; and (c) maintaining said framesubstantially stationary while said conveying member is moving saidproducts thereon.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said vibratory forceis provided by an electromagnetic drive with a mass that vibrates backand forth along a substantially straight path.
 3. The method of claim 1wherein said natural frequency of said frame includes the mass of theframe and the mass of the conveying member.
 4. A method of movingproducts comprising the steps of: (a) supporting a conveying membersuitable to move products thereon with a frame; (b) providing a force tosaid frame with a drive connected to said frame which maintains asubstantially constant stroke distance of said conveying member in aregion of operation where the natural frequency of the conveying memberdivided by the frequency of the vibrating motion is less than one; (c)maintaining said frame substantially stationary while said conveyingmember is moving said products thereon.
 5. The conveying system of claim4 wherein said force has a variable frequency and said force has avariable amplitude at each of said frequencies.
 6. A method of movingproducts comprising the steps of: (a) supporting a conveying membersuitable to move products thereon with a frame; (b) providing a force tosaid frame with a drive connected to said frame which maintains asubstantially constant stroke distance of said conveying member in aregion of operation where the natural frequency of the conveying memberdivided by the frequency of the vibrating motion is substantially equalto one; (c) maintaining said frame substantially stationary while saidconveying member is moving said products thereon.
 7. The conveyingsystem of claim 6 wherein said force has a variable frequency and saidforce has a variable amplitude at each of said frequencies.
 8. Aconveying system comprising: (a) a first frame supporting a firstconveying member suitable to move first products thereon and a secondframe supporting a second conveying member suitable to move secondproducts thereon; and (b) a first electromagnetic drive connected tosaid first frame providing a first force to said frame in such a mannerthat said first conveying member moves said first products thereon whilesaid first frame maintains substantially stationary; (c) a secondelectromagnetic drive connected to said second frame providing a secondforce to said second frame in such a manner that said second conveyingmember moves said second products thereon while said second framemaintains substantially stationary; and (d) a drive controllersynchronizing the motion of said first conveying member and said secondconveying member so that the path of said first conveying memberoverlaps the path of said second conveying member without said firstconveying member coming into contact with said second conveying member.9. The conveying system of claim 8 wherein said first and secondelectromagnetic drives each have a respective mass that vibrates backand forth along a respective substantially straight path.
 10. Theconveying system of claim 8 wherein said first force and said secondforce are vibratory forces.
 11. A method of moving products comprisingthe steps of: (a) supporting a first conveying member suitable to movefirst products thereon with a first frame and supporting a secondconveying member suitable to move second products thereon; (b) providinga first force to said first frame with a first electromagnetic driveconnected to said first frame in such a manner that said first conveyingmember moves said first products thereon while said first framemaintains substantially stationary; (c) providing a second force to saidsecond frame with a second electromagnetic drive connected to saidsecond frame in such a manner that said second conveying member movessaid second products thereon while said second frame maintainssubstantially stationary; and (d) synchronizing the motion of said firstconveying member and said second conveying member so that the path ofsaid first conveying member overlaps the path of said second conveyingmember without said first conveying member coming into contact with saidsecond conveying member.
 12. The method of claim 11 wherein saidelectromagnetic drive has a mass that vibrates back and forth along asubstantially straight path.
 13. A method of moving products comprisingthe steps of: (a) supporting a conveying member suitable to moveproducts thereon with a frame; (b) providing a vibratory force to saidframe from an electromagnetic drive with a mass that vibrates back andforth along a substantially straight path that never matches the naturalfrequency of said frame while said conveying member is at least one ofbrought from a stationary state to a generally resonant state suitableto move said products thereon and brought from said generally resonantstate suitable to move said products thereon to said stationary state;and (c) maintaining said frame substantially stationary while saidconveying member is moving said products thereon.